CVE-2014-7414 in CLEO Malaysia
Summary
by MITRE
The CLEO Malaysia (aka com.magzter.cleomalaysia) application 3.01 for Android does not verify X.509 certificates from SSL servers, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers and obtain sensitive information via a crafted certificate.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/05/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7414 affects the CLEO Malaysia Android application version 3.01, representing a critical security flaw in the application's secure communication implementation. This issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise user data and system integrity. The vulnerability specifically impacts the application's cryptographic security measures, which are essential for maintaining confidential communication between the mobile client and remote servers.
The technical flaw manifests as a complete absence of certificate verification mechanisms within the application's SSL implementation. When the CLEO Malaysia app establishes secure connections to its backend servers, it fails to perform the necessary validation steps that would normally verify certificate authenticity, issuer legitimacy, and cryptographic strength. This omission places the application squarely within CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation in security protocols. The vulnerability creates a trust relationship that can be easily manipulated by malicious actors who can present forged certificates that appear legitimate to the application.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability exposes users to severe man-in-the-middle attacks where attackers can intercept and manipulate communications between the mobile application and its servers. The implications extend beyond simple data interception to include potential credential theft, session hijacking, and unauthorized access to sensitive user information. Attackers could present fraudulent certificates that would be accepted by the application, allowing them to decrypt and modify data in transit without detection. This weakness undermines the fundamental security model of secure mobile applications and creates opportunities for data breaches that could affect thousands of users.
The attack surface for this vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1566 for credential access through phishing and T1041 for data compression and encryption. The impact on user privacy and data security is significant, as the application likely handles sensitive information such as user accounts, personal data, and potentially financial information. Organizations using this application would face regulatory compliance issues and potential liability from data breaches resulting from this vulnerability. The lack of certificate verification represents a fundamental flaw in the application's security architecture that directly violates best practices for mobile application security and secure communication protocols.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper certificate pinning mechanisms, enforcing strict certificate validation procedures, and conducting regular security assessments of mobile applications. The application should be updated to include robust certificate verification, implement certificate pinning to prevent certificate substitution attacks, and establish proper trust chain validation. Security teams should also consider deploying network monitoring solutions to detect anomalous SSL/TLS traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security audits and code reviews should be implemented to prevent similar vulnerabilities in future releases and ensure compliance with industry standards such as those defined by NIST and OWASP for mobile application security.